This article discusses the imperative of a major scaling up of human capital in Africa as a prerequisite for economic transformation. Sustained economic growth cannot be driven by improved macroeconomic policies, greater political stability, improved business climate, and growing global interest in Africa (primarily driven by commodities) alone. This article presents a vision of 2050 in which more African students enroll and complete school, African universities are leading global research centers of excellence, and Africans would be healthier and living longer as a result of better nutrition and healthcare, higher incomes, and drastically reduced poverty. It highlights the opportunities and challenges that African countries face in making what would amount to a quantum leap in raising levels of human capital and outlines some promising approaches toward achieving that objective.
AdamsV. ArvilJohannsonSaraRazmaraSetareh. (Forthcoming 2013). Improving skills development in the informal sector: Strategies for Sub-Saharan Africa. Washington, DC: World Bank.
2.
African Development Bank. (2012). Africa economic outlook: Promoting youth employment. Tunis, Paris, New York, and Addis Ababa: African Development Bank, OECD, UNDP, and UNECA.
3.
African Economic Research Consortium (AERC) and the World Bank. (2011). Service delivery indicators: Pilot in education and health care in Africa. Washington, DC: AERC and the World Bank.
4.
Association for Development of Education in Africa (ADEA). (2012). Critical knowledge, skills and qualifications for accelerated and sustainable development in Africa. Synthesis Report for ADEA Triennale 2012, ADEA, Saint Paul, MN.
5.
BarroR.LeeJ.W. (2010). A new data set of educational attainment in the world 1950–2010. NBER Working Paper 15902, National Bureau of Economic Research, Cambridge, MA.
6.
BenvenisteL. (2008). Education in Thailand: Improving secondary education. In FredriksenBirgerTanJee Peng (Eds), An African exploration of East Asian education experience (pp. 218–287). Washington, DC: World Bank.
7.
BilalN.K.HerbstC.H.ZhaoF.SoucatA.LemiereC. (2011). Health extension workers in Ethiopia. In Chuhan-PoleP.AngwafoM. (eds), Yes, Africa can: Success stories from a dynamic continent. Washington, DC: World Bank.
8.
BrunsB.FilmerD.PatrinosH. (2011). Making schools work: New evidence on accountability reforms. Washington, DC: World Bank.
9.
BurnettN.BerminghamD. (2010). Innovative financing for education. ESP Working Papers Series, No. 5, Results for Development Institute and Open Society Institute, Washington DC.
10.
Butler-AdamJ. (2013). The Southern Africa Regional Universities Association (SARUA): Seven years of higher education advancement 2006–2012. Johannesburg: SARUA.
11.
CollierP. (2009). Wars, guns and votes: Democracy in dangerous places. New York: Harper Collins.
12.
CunhaF.HeckmanJ.J. (2006). Investing in young people. Chicago: University of Chicago.
13.
DfID (2010). Learning and teaching materials: Policies and practice for provision. A DfID practice paper, Department for International Development, London.
14.
DanielJ. (2010). Mega-schools, technology and teachers. London: Routledge.
15.
De FerrantiD.PerryG.E.GillI.GuaschJ.L.MaloneyW.F.Sanchez-ParamoC.SchadyN. (2003). Closing the gap in education and technology. Washington, DC: World Bank.
16.
DemombynesG.TrommlerovaS. (2012). What has driven the decline of infant mortality in Kenya. Working Paper No. 6057, World Bank, Washington, DC.
17.
DevarajanS. (2012). Youth employment in Africa: What to do when informal is normal. Washington, DC: World Bank.
18.
DevarajanS.KhemaniS.WaltonM. (2011). Civil society, public action and accountability in Africa. Policy Research Working Paper 5733, World Bank, Washington, DC.
19.
di GropelloE. (Ed.). (2006). Meeting the challenges of secondary education in Latin America and East Asia: Improving efficiency and resource mobilization. Washington, DC: World Bank.
20.
DinhHinh T.PalmadeVincentChandraVandanaCossaFrances.(2012). Light manufacturing in Africa: Targeted policies to enhance private investment and create jobs. Washington, DC: World Bank.
21.
EnglePatrice L.FernaldLia C.H.AldermanHaroldBehrmanJere. (2011). Strategies for reducing inequalities and improving development outcomes for young children in low-income and middle-income countries. The Lancet, 378(9799), 1339–1353.
22.
European Commission. (2012, November). Commission presents new rethinking education strategy. Brussels: European Commission.
FredriksenB. (2011). Education resource mobilization and use in developing countries: Scope for efficiency gains through more strategic use of education aid. Washington, DC: Results for Development Institute.
25.
FredriksenB.TanJ.P. (Eds). (2008). An African exploration of East Asian education experience. Washington, DC: World Bank.
26.
FoxLouiseSantibanezLucreciaNguyenVyAndrePierre. (2012). Education reform in Mozambique: Lessons and challenges. Washington, DC: World Bank.
27.
GakidouEmmanuelaCowlingK.LozanoR.MurrayC.J.L. (2010). Increased educational attainment and its effect on child mortality in 175 countries between 1970 and 2009: A systematic analysis. The Lancet, 376(9745), 959–974.
28.
GarciaMaritoPenceAlanEvensJudith L. (Eds). (2008). Africa’s future, Africa’s challenge: Early childhood care and development in sub-Saharan Africa. Washington, DC: World Bank.
29.
GrasslyNicholasDesaiKamalaPegurriElisabettaSikazweAlfredMalambIreneSiamatoweClementBundyDonald. (2003). The economic impact of HIV/AIDS on the education sector in Zambia. AIDS, 17(7), 1039–1044.
30.
HallakJacquesPoissonMuriel. (2007). Corrupt schools, corrupt universities: What can be done?Paris: UNESCO/IIEP.
31.
HanushekEricWößmannLudger. (2007). Education quality and economic growth. Washington, DC: World Bank.
32.
Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME). (2010). Global burden of disease, injuries, and risk factors study 2010. Seattle, WA: IHME.
33.
International Labour Organization (ILO). (2011). Global employment trends. Geneva: ILO.
34.
JaramilloAdrianaMingatAlain. (2008). Can early childhood programs be financially sustainable in Africa? In GarciaMaritoPenceAlanEvansJudith L. (Eds), Africa’s future, Africa’s challenge: Early childhood care and development in sub-Saharan Africa (pp. 51–71). Washington, DC: World Bank.
35.
JayaramShubha. (2012). Training models for employment in the digital economy. Washington, DC: Results for Development Institute.
36.
JonesS. (2012). Are our children learning? Literacy and numeracy across East Africa. Nairobi, Kenya: Uwezo and Hivos/Twaweza.
37.
LassibilleGerard. (2012). Teachers’ engagement at work in a developing country. Journal of African Economics, 22(1), 52–72 .
38.
LaugloJon. (2001). Engaging with adults: The case for increased support to adult basic education in sub-Saharan Africa. Africa region Human Development Working Papers Series, World Bank, Washington, DC.
39.
LeeJae Chong. (2008). Education in the Republic of Korea: Approaches, achievements, and current challenges. In FredriksenBirgerTanJee Peng (Eds), An African exploration of East Asian education experience (pp. 155–218). Washington, DC: World Bank.
40.
LevineRuthLloydC.B.GreeneM.GrownC. (2009). Girls count: A global investment & action agenda.Washington, DC: Center for Global Development, 2009.
41.
LewinK.CaillodsF. (2001). Financing secondary education in developing countries: Strategies for sustainable growth. Paris: UNESCO/IIEP.
42.
LutulaB. (2012). Skills for employability: Sub-Saharan Africa. Washington, DC: Results.
43.
MajgaardK.MingatA. (2012). Education in sub-Saharan Africa: A comparative analysis. Washington, DC: World Bank.
44.
McGannJ. (2011). Global go to think tank (index). Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania.
45.
McKinsey. (2007). How the world’s best schools come on top. New York: McKinsey and Company.
46.
McKinsey. (2010). Lions on the move: The progress and potential of African economies. New York: McKinsey and Company.
47.
McKinsey. (2012a). Education to Employment: Designing a system that works. New York: McKinseyand Company.
48.
McKinsey. (2012b). Africa at work: Job creation and inclusive growth. New York: McKinsey and Company.
49.
MeredithM. (2011). The fate of Africa: A history of the continent since independence. New York: Perseus.
50.
MingatA.LedouxB.RakotomalalaR. (2010). Developing post-primary education in sub-Saharan Africa: Assessing the financial sustainability of alternative pathways. Washington, DC: World Bank.
51.
MingatA.SuchautB. (2000). Les systèmes éducatifs africains: Une analyse économique comparative. Brussels: De Boeck Université.
52.
NaudeauS.KataokaN.ValerioA.NeumanM.ElderL.(2011). Investing in young children: An early childhood development guide for policy dialogue and project preparation. Washington, DC: World Bank.
53.
NIH. (2011, May12). Treating HIV-infected people with antiretrovirals protects partners from infection: Findings result from NIH-funded international study. NIH News. Published at http://www.niaid.nih.gov/news/news releases/2011/Pages/HPTN052.aspx (last accessed on October 2, 2013).
54.
OketchM. (2007). To vocationalise or not to vocationalise? Perspectives on current trends and issues in technical and vocational education and training (TVET) in Africa. International Journal of Educational Development,27(2), 220–234.
55.
Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). (2010). The high cost of low educational performance: The long-run impact of improving PISA outcomes. Paris: OECD Publishing.
56.
Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). (2012). Better skills, better jobs, better lives: A strategic approach to skills policies. Paris: OECD Publishing.
57.
OxenhamJ. (2003). Review of World Bank supported projects in basic education and literacy 1977–2002: Comparison of costs. Washington, DC: World Bank.
58.
OxenhamJ. (2008). Effective literacy programs: Options for policy-makers. Fundamentals in Educational Planning, 91. Paris: UNESCO/IIEP.
59.
R4D. (2012). Innovative secondary education for skills enhancement. Phase I Synthesis Reports, Results for Development Institute, Washington, DC.
60.
RankinN.SandefurJ.NealF. (2010). Learning and earning in Africa: Where are the returns to education high? CSAE Working Paper 2010–02, Centre for the Study of African Economies, Department of Economics, Oxford University.
61.
ReadA.BontouxV.BuchanA. (2007). Secondary textbook and school library provision for Sub-Saharan Africa: A review based on 19 national case studies. Washington, DC: World Bank.
TheunynckS. (2009). School construction strategies for universal primary education in Africa: Should communities be empowered to build their schools. Washington, DC: World Bank.
67.
UNAIDS. (2011). AIDS at 30: Nations at the crossroads. Geneva: UNAIDS.
68.
UNAIDS. (2012). UNAIDS report on the global AIDS epidemic. Geneva: UNAIDS.
69.
United Nations Educational Scientific Cultural Organization (UNESCO). (1993). Trends and projections of enrollment by level of education, by age and by sex 1960–2015 (as assessed in 1993). CSR-E-63.Paris: UNESCO.
UNESCO Institute for Statistics. (1999). Statistical yearbook. Paris: UNESCO.
72.
UNESCO Institute for Statistics. (2005). EFA global monitoring report 2006. Paris: UNESCO.
73.
UNESCO Institute for Statistics. (2007). EFA global monitoring report2008. Paris: UNESCO.
74.
UNESCO Institute for Statistics. (2012a). EFA global monitoring report 2012. Paris: UNESCO.
75.
UNESCO Institute for Statistics. (2012b). World atlas of gender equality in education. Paris: UNESCO.
76.
UNESCO-UIS. (2006). Teachers and education quality: Monitoring global needs for 2014.Montreal: UNESCO-UIS.
77.
UNESCO-UIS. (2011). Financing of education in aub-Saharan Africa: Meeting the challenge of expansion, equity and quality. Montreal: UNESCO- UIS.
78.
United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF). (2012a). Levels and trends in child mortality. New York: UN Inter-agency Group for Child Mortality Estimation.
79.
United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF). (2012b). Committing to child survival: A promise renewed. New York: UNICEF.
80.
VargheseN.Y. (2013). Private higher education: The global surge and Indian concerns. In Infrastructure Development Finance Company, India infrastructure report 2012: Private sector in education (pp. 145–156). London: Routledge.
81.
VerspoorA.the SEIA Team. (2008). At the crossroads: Choices for secondary education in Sub-Saharan Africa. Washington, DC: World Bank.
82.
WangH.Dwyer-LindgrenL.LofgrenK.T.RajaratnamJ. KnollMarcusJ.R.Levin-RectorA.MurrayC.J.L. (2012). Age-specific and sex-specific mortality in 187 countries, 1970–2010: A systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2010. The Lancet, 380, 2071–2095.
83.
World Health Organization (WHO). (2010). The world health report: Health systems financing; the path to universal coverage. Geneva: WHO.
84.
World Health Organization (WHO). (2012a). Atlas of African health statistics 2012: Health situation analysis of the African region. Brazzaville: WHO.
85.
World Health Organization (WHO). (2012b). Global tuberculosis report 2012. Geneva: WHO.
86.
World Bank. (2000). Can Africa claim the 21st century?Washington, DC: World Bank.
87.
World Bank. (2002). World Bank support for provision of textbooks in Sub-Saharan Africa. Africa Region Human Development Working Paper Series, World Bank, Washington, DC.
88.
World Bank. (2005). Expanding opportunities and building competencies for young people: A new agenda for secondary education. Washington, DC: World Bank.
89.
World Bank. (2009). Accelerating catch-up: Tertiary education for growth in sub-Saharan Africa. Washington, DC: World Bank.
90.
World Bank. (2010). Sustaining educational and economic momentum in Africa. Working Paper No. 195, World Bank, Washington, DC.
91.
World Bank. (2011a). Africa pulse, Vol. 4. Washington, DC: World Bank.
92.
World Bank. (2011b). Learning for all: Investing in people’s knowledge and skills to promote development; World Bank group education strategy 2020. Washington, DC: World Bank.
93.
World Bank. (2011c). World development report 2012: Gender equality and development. Washington, DC: World Bank.
94.
World Bank. (2012). The 2013 world development report: Jobs. Washington, DC: World Bank.
95.
World Bank. (2013). China 2030:Building a modern, harmonious and creative society. Washington, DC: World Bank and the Development Research Center of the State Council, People’s Republic of China.
